From What’s Now. To What’s Next

LPP is keeping a finger on the pulse of top industry headlines and conversations buzzing around social media, so you don't have to. Below is this week's  round-up to serve as information and inspiration for discussions around real-time trends.

Did we miss anything? What are your thoughts on what’s happening this week?

 

Top Stories

• Cyberattacks Galore: Apple confirmed an attack by the same cyber criminals who infiltrated Facebook employee computers last week. The company rolled out a Java and Malware update to protect its users. Other recent cyberattack victims include The New York Times, Oracle, Facebook, Wall Street Journal and Twitter. China has defended itself against the accusations and the site that is likely responsible for the attacks has issued a statement denying it was contacted by Facebook regarding the attacks.
• Oscar Pistorious Murder Trial: The Olympic runner and Paralympic champion accused of shooting his girlfriend is facing trial in South Africa. The lead investigator on the case recently made a mistake in his court testimony when he identified a substance found in the athlete's bedroom as testosterone. Does this make a difference from a PR standpoint? Pistorius' attorneys claim it does, as it attaches negative connotations to the athelete’s actions.
• Russian Meteor: In case you missed it because you were living under a rock (get it?), check out some impressive footage of the meteor and reports of some of the damage. And here is a very geeky video breakdown from Wired.

Top Conversations

• #HarlemShake: Someone went to Harlem to show our home and office videos to people who are actually from Harlem. They were not impressed.
• #Oscars: There’s chatter about the snubs and the clear favorites. Will Seth McFarlane be a terrible or a fantastic host?
• #SXSW: March is almost here. What sessions/themes would you like LPP to cover? More about what our presence will be like on the ground, coming soon!

Technology

• Republic Wireless Wi-Fi: Company is the latest to target budget customers by offering smartphone + Wi-Fi service for only $19 / month.
• Everyone Gets Google Glasses!: If you can afford $1,500 plus tax and shipping, that is. Google is accepting applications for muggles (a.k.a. not developers) who want to test out the glasses.
• F.C.C. Fixes Wireless Congestion: The agency proposed making some spectrum available for use by consumer devices that want to connect to Wi-Fi networks in hotels, airports and homes.

Public Relations

• @BurgerKing and @Jeep Get Hacked: While social media managers spring into action to protect their accounts, @MTV and @VH1 think it's a good idea to pretend they had hacked each other's Twitter account. Bad form?
• Tesla CEO Fails at PR: Elon Musk jumps in to refute critiques against the new Model S, gets in a tiff with The New York Times, learns valuable PR lessons.
• OfficeDepot Merger Slip-up: OfficeDepot accidentally included information about the pending merger in the earnings announcement on its website. Could a PR playbook and attention to detail have helped prevent this? Currently, the companies are facing off in a search for who will be in charge of the companies once they merge.

Social Media

• Twitter: Was hacked! Protect your password! 
• Facebook: See above. 

http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidvinjamuri/2013/02/15/why-your-billionaire-ceo-should-not-run-pr-tesla-vs-the-new-york-times/